Display tray



' Patented June 7, 1932 KIMQN BonoeLoU, or onIoAeo, ILLINOIS I DISPLAY many Application filed October 28, 1930. Serial No. 491,744.

The present invention relates to vending trays, and especially to that class where the goods to be sold are placed in a tray and carried bythe salesman from customer to .6 customer.

One of the objects is to provide a tray which will be convenient to display the goods for sale.

Another object is to provide a tray which has a convenient department for holding coins and bills for change.

Another object is to provide a tray wherein a lighted advertisement will apprise the customer of the goods forsale.

Another object is to provide a tray with a flashing advertising sign which will attract the attention of customers to the vender.

Another object is to provide a tray in which the advertising sign may be readily and quickly changed to advertise other lines of goods.

with the above and other objects in view, which will more particularly appear from the drawing accompanying and the specification following, I have illustrated in the drawings one embodiment of my invention as adapted for the sale of cigarettes, gum, candies and similar articles. In the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals of reference refer to the same part throughout the various figures,

Figure 1 is a improved trays.

Figure 2 is a front elevation taken from the lower side in Figure 1.

top plan view of one of my Figure 3 is an end elevation taken from the right in Figure 1.

Figure 4: is a section view along the line 1616 in Figure 1.

The present invention is designed for use in vending merchandise, such as cigarettes, cigars, gum, candies and the like articles, and is adapted for use in any circumstances where the vender carries the merchandise to and among the customers, but is especially useful at night in cabarets, night clubs, and other entertainments and gatherings of people, where it is considered undesirable to have strong lighting. Under such circumstances 50 my tray is ideally adapted to attract the attention of the customers and apprisethem of the class of goods which the vender is car'- rymg. -V

To accomplish this result, I have constructed my device in the form of an open top, rec- 55. tangular shaped tray 1, havin abottom 2, and ends 3 and 4, and a back 5. *or convenience in holding and carrying the tray I have pro} vided the hand holds 6, 6 in the ends 3 and 4, as shown. The front'side of the tray is 60 provided with the opening, as shown, and the ends 3 and 4 are preferably cut at an oblique angle adjacent said open front side. Upon the front edge of the bottom 2 I have provided a corner plate 7 and on the edges of 5 the oblique ends of the ends 3 and 4' adjacent the front open side I have provided the corner plates 8, 8. These corner plates 7 8, 8, have the front arms of the angle plates spaced from the front edgesof the tray so as To to form a slideway for the panel 9, which is adapted to be placed in said slidewayto close the open front side of the tray, and is securely retained in said slideway by the arms 7 of the angle plates, 7, 8, 8 secured'to the sides 75. and bottom of the boX. This panel 9 is preferably made of translucent material, such as 7 some product of glass, and has painted upon it an advertisement'of the articles for sale.

' A suitable partition as 10 is provided to form the fourth side of the compartment containing the merchandise, and this partition together with the panel 9 preferably forms a triangularly enclosed compartment in the front of the panel to enclose and pro-' 5 tect the electric lamps 11, 11, 11 placed therein, and the electric batteries 12, 12, 12 which are provided to furnish electric current to said lamps, and are connected through a spring operated switch 13 in circuit with said v lamps. At one portion of-the tray I have also provided a compartment 14, which is suitably divided to receive and retain coins and bills for cash and change as sales are made. A shoulder strap 15 is also general- 95] ly provided to support the tray while being carried, and also while th-e'hands are employed in waiting upon customers and making change.

In general use the tray is stocked with the 19 F I class of goods which the vender intends to sell'to the customers, and a suitable transparent or translucent panel 9 carrying an ad vertisement of such goods is placed in the slideway in front of the tray as above described. As the vender passes among the customers, he presses the switch from time .to time to flash the electric lamps on and off he'- hind the transparent panel sign 9, This flashing of the sign, as is well known, at v tracts the attention of customers, and a'i'ds'to create a desire in the mind of the customer to purchase the goods shown upon the sign; In

practice in poorly lighted places, this method has been found to increase the sales over' the old way of vending without a lighted tray, and it creates less noise and confusion than to have the venders cry out their wares from time to time as formerly was necessary.

- It will be apparent, that the size and shape of the tray may be readily varied to vend any of the other articles usually sold in a similar manner by carrying about among the customers. f

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following: 7

In combination with a rectangular vending tray having forwardly directed extended bottom and sides, said sides being cut obs liquely upwardly and rearwardly from the forward edge of the extended bottom, angular plates having one arm of each of said plates secured to the edges of the extended bottom and sides and having the other arm of each of said plates spaced from the front edges-of the sides and bottom to form an up- Wardly inclined slideway, a translucent panel bearing advertising matter disposed in the slideway, a vertical partition ezgtending between the sides of the tray to form a' closed triangular compartment with said panel and sides of the tray, and manually actuated means disposed in said compartment for i1- luminating said translucent panel. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature. r KIMON BODOGLOU. 

